The apostle John loved to call his readers his “little children.” The Greek word is “teknion” which means “a little child.” It is also used of a tender term for a "teacher towards his disciples.” He calls them “little children” seven times in this book.However, in 1 John 2:13, John changes the word. He wrote to the fathers because they knew God, the One who was from the beginning. He wrote to the young men because they had overcome the wicked one. But then I noticed with new alertness these words: “I write unto you, little children, because ye have KNOWN THE FATHER.”
This time he uses a different word, “paideion” which means “a little boy or little girl, infant, a young child.” I was arrested by these words. God wants our little children to know Him. Sometimes we don’t expect our children to know the Father until they are older, but this Scripture shows that God wants our little ones to know Him as Father too.
He wants them to experience the Father’s love and protection from their earthly fathers so they will understand His love. He also wants them to come to know Him through the hearing of the Scriptures.
We see this in 2 Timothy 3:15: “From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” Here a different Greek word is used for child. This time it is “brephos” which speaks of “a babe in the womb, a babe that is newly born, a little child.” Check out Luke 1:4, 44 and 2:16. Once again, God is not limiting the understanding of knowing Him to older people. He wants little ones to know His Word.
How can this happen? It happens at our Family Bible times where father reads the Scriptures to the family morning and evening. Little by little the word goes into the hearts of these little ones (even when they are in the womb). In a godly home, even young children can be ready for salvation, because they are daily filled with God’s word. They can receive Christ Jesus into their lives at the ages of three and four because it is the Scriptures that prepare them for salvation. We are saved through the Word of Truth. Most of our children had a definite encounter with the Lord at the age of four years and it is still as real to them today although they are now in their late fifties!
Dear mothers, please be aware that your little ones can begin to KNOW God at an early age. Did you notice that word KNOW? Paul said to Timothy that he had KNOWN the Holy Scriptures since a little child. John wrote to the little children because they KNEW the Father.
Be faithful in reading the Scriptures daily to your children. Watch over their souls. Speak to them much of the Father and of His character and of His great salvation. Expect your little ones to desire to KNOW Him.
I am amazed and so utterly blessed as I watch little ones in our prayer meetings with their hands raised to God and looking up in adoring worship to God. Sometimes these little ones are more into worship than the older ones. They already KNOW something of the awe of their Father God.
Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 19:14 (NLY): “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them. For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”
Have a lovely day with your children,
Nancy Campbell
Picture: Selah Hartman. Selah was part of the wedding party of Vision and Eden’s wedding on Saturday. I took this picture of her as everyone was singing the hymn: “Worthy of every son we could ever sing, Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring.”
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Such a beautiful thing. But to be loved we must first love. The more we speak love, show love, and give love to our spouse, the more it boomerangs back upon us. Just like we love God because He first loved us.
“When God lays a new-born babe in the arms of a mother, he says to her heart, "Take this child and nurse it for me and I will give you your wages." The answer of maternal love should be, ‘Oh God, you have put your noblest workmanship into my hands. I accept the precious trust. I will shelter this young life under your mercy-seat. I will be truthful that it may never learn falsehood. I will nurse this soul in its infancy with the sincere milk of love, that in after years it may bear strong meat for strong service of God and righteousness.
Dear mother, Sometimes you think you are not accomplishing very much in your home! But be encouraged, you are doing a great work. Great things are a combination little things. Every day you are doing little things that are adding up to big things. Every smile and cuddle you give to your children is filling up their tank of security. Every encouragement and affirmation you give them each day is preparing them for their future. Every seed of truth from God’s word that you speak into them throughout the day is a seed that will grow into a full tree as you keep watering it. Every prayer you pray for your children is going up before the throne of God as incense!
Tomorrow Colin and I drive to Pensacola along with loads of other members of our family.
Do you receive the daily newsletter from Rebecca Lavrenz, THE J6 PRAYING GRANDMA. I would encourage you to get this. Here is a little snippet from the other day:
(A Testimony from an older grandmother).
This post reminds of the quote: “worrying is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but gets you nowhere.”
Don't despise preparing meals for your family. Wonderful things can happen at your meal table as you come with joy and expectancy!
The other Sunday morning we were singing the worship song, “Glorify thy name in all the earth.”
Dear mothers, we must be truth seeking mothers. We must know the truth and impart the truth of God’s Word to our children. They must be children who know the truth in the midst of this deceived society. It is the truth that sets us free. It is only the truth that exposes deception. The truth will always win out. Don’t give up. Keep holding on to truth. Be a truth seeking, truth loving, truth keeping, truth upholding family.
Serene Allison gave a powerful message to the ladies at the retreat on Passionate Marriage.
The great evangelist, D. L. Moody and his wife, Emma, also enjoyed a beautiful marriage together. A niece wrote: “Aunt Emma and Uncle Dwight were so perfectly one that nobody could possibly me tell which was the one.”
Charles Haden Spurgeon, known as “the prince of preachers” and his wife Susannah enjoyed a beautiful marriage together.
Do you want your marriage to last to the end? Start building into it now.
It’s the best. Not the easiest but the BEST! And you are in the perfect will of God.
That means we will not be intimidated by the subtle deceptions of this age. Instead, we will seek God’s ways, we will seek to know His truth, and walk in it. We will be a God-fearing, God-loving, God honoring, devil defeating household of God.